“Meditation is related to increased performance on cognitive tasks”
Breathing is such an instinctive act that we rarely pay attention to it, since, although we do it about 20,000 times a day, we are in a strict physiological “autopilot” of which we are almost unaware. However, in recent years, neuroscience has begun to unravel the mechanisms behind a practice that has been with us for millennia, such as conscious breathing. to relax There are many techniques that are advertised on social networks, such as mindfulness or breathing control. But here are several questions we can ask ourselves: do these techniques really work? And why do they work? This is where science comes in, which has managed to map how the simple act of altering our breathing rhythm is capable of modulating attention, memory and the activity of our brain networks. The neurological basis of this phenomenon is strongly supported by the work of researchers such as Jack L. Feldman, who has dedicated his career to studying respiratory control and its deep link with emotions and cognition. But now we go one step further to understand that breathing control techniques are a way of communicating with the nervous system. The panic button. To understand why paying attention to how air enters and leaves our lungs has such a massive impact, you have to look at the brain stem. Here is a study published in Science in 2017 identified a small but critical group of neurons in the pre-Bötzinger complexthe true “pacemaker” of our respiratory rhythm. With just 175 neuronstheir projections made connections with the areas of the brain responsible for attention, alertness and panic. This is why slow, controlled breathing drastically reduces the activation of this center, and therefore acts as a way to put a biological brake on the brain’s alarm signals. Beyond relaxation. Although it is what they sell us most on a daily basis, the reality is that when we move to conscious breathing, focused attention is also improved, for example. This is what neuroimaging studies show that the brain ‘lights up’ in very specific areas when it is in a state of mindfulness. Specifically, areas related to emotional management, body awareness and focused moment-to-moment attention are activated. In fact, a study published in Scientific Reports in 2018 demonstrated that eight weeks of meditation based on attention to breathing not only improves performance in visual selective attention and working memory, but also optimizes the efficiency of brain networks. The new thing we know. The latest data is consolidating the idea that breathing is the main modulator between our body and our mind. Different research points to how interneuronal connections translate into tangible improvements in emotional control. For example, a work published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience concludes that slow breathing significantly reduces anxiety, improving medial frontal alpha asymmetry in electroencephalograms, which is a known biomarker of control over our emotions. It’s not magic. This is a very important nuance that we have to make here, since although studies agree that these mindfulness techniques are formidable for reducing chronic stress, anxiety and depression, they are not a miracle. What science here is not that we are facing a magical transformation, but rather a neurobiological training. Learning to breathe consciously is, in essence, learning to use a physical interface that evolution has given us to optimize the efficiency of our neural networks, improve our emotional regulation and maintain focus in an increasingly dispersed world. Images | Benjamin Child In Xataka | The best 18 meditation, relaxation and mindfulness applications to have better mental health
